How to Fix Netflix Not Working on Firestick

Netflix is the main app when it comes to watching content on the Amazon Firestick. It absolutely stinks when it’s not working correctly, and you just want to watch some movies.

In this post we’ll go over some troubleshooting steps you can take to get your Netflix app back working again.


Netflix Isn’t Working Properly

Some quick things to check before we get into the nitty-gritty stuff:

  • Is Netflix currently down? Check Downdetector to see if other users are reporting a widespread problem.
  • Try to launch another channel and see if it has problems as well. If it does, you may have an Internet outage or problems with your local network. In this case, try unplugging all of your network equipment, then plugging it back in to reset everything.
  • Try restarting your Firestick. You can do so by navigating to Settings > My Fire TV or System > Restart. Alternately, you can hold down the and ● buttons on the remote simultaneously until the Firestick restarts.
  • Check for updates to the FireOS system software by going to Settings > My Fire TV or System > About > Install Update.

Why Netflix Won’t Start

Clear Netflix Data & Cache

Sometimes the data in the Netflix app can get corrupted. Try clearing the app data and cache by going to Settings > Applications > Manage installed applications > Netflix and selecting the following buttons in this order: Force stop > Clear data > Clear cache.

Uninstall & Reinstall App

If you’ve tried the above steps and you still have problems launching the Netflix app, try removing and reinstalling it. Go to Settings > Applications > Manage installed applications > Netflix > Uninstall.

Once the app is removed, press Home and go to Find > Appstore to reinstall Netflix.


Why is Netflix Buffering or Freezing?

If Netflix won’t play video or audio without buffering or freezing, there may be a problem with the connection to the Internet. Try these steps:

Restart Netflix

The Netflix app has a nice option for quickly restarting the app. Once you have opened the Netflix app, press Left to open the options on the left pane then select Get Help > Reload Netflix.

Run ‘Check your network’ Utility

The Netflix app has a section where you can check your network speed. To get there, press Left while on the Home screen of Netflix then select Get Help > Check your network. This will test connections to all Netflix servers and the speed of your Internet connection.

Once you can see the speed you are getting, have a look at the Netflix recommendations for video quality.

Disable VPN

If you are using a VPN service, see how Netflix works when you disable the VPN. If you must have a VPN running, try to connect to a different server location.

Configure Google Public DNS

Firestick users have reported better speed and experience when they configure Firestick to work with Google DNS.

Lower Video Quality

If you’re having a poor experience with the video, you may want to simply try to watch Netflix with lower quality video. Lower quality video won’t be so demanding on your network.

To change the Netflix video quality, login to your Netflix account using a web browser and select your profile picture located at the upper-right corner of the screen. From there go to Account > Profile & Parental Controls > Change > Playback settings. You can then change to setting to Medium or Low and see how it works.

If you have multiple profiles, you may have to change this setting for each profile.


I hope this guide has helped you fix your problems with getting the Netflix app to work properly on the Amazon Firestick. If you still have problems, please drop me a comment below and I’ll try to help out.

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